The IMG Residency Match Podcast
The IMG Residency Match Podcast offers advice and encouragement for international medical graduates applying to U.S. residency programs. Hosted by Shawna-Kaye Lester, it shares insider strategies, personal experiences, and practical tips for navigating the match process. Episodes aim to help listeners strengthen their applications and stay motivated. The show is designed for IMGs who want to match into residency.
Episodes
S2, EP 12: How Love Led This IMG to Becoming A Family Medicine Chief Resident
Dr. Sushania Pryce is in love with Family Medicine. In fact, she has been smitten by her specialty of choice since she was a child. But the Match process can test even the most driven IMGs, even Dr. Pryce. Sushania’s story captures the highs and lows of her journey, including the years she watched others matching, wondering when it would be her turn. Growing up in Jamaica, Sushania dreamed of beco
S2, EP 11: How This Assistant Program Director Went From Underestimated IMG to Pediatric Anesthesiologist
For many IMGs, the match feels like a gamble stacked against them, especially when the specialty is as competitive as anesthesiology. In this episode, you’ll hear about an IMG who knew she would only go after her true love specialty. From facing others’ doubts and discouragement to navigating a new medical system and excelling in residency, Dr. Lori-Ann Edwards carved out a path to pediatric anest
S2, EP 10: One IMG Researcher Shares His Formula For Match, Entrepreneurship, And Life Success
Ever felt like being an IMG means your options are limited? You’re not stuck. In this conversation, you’ll hear how an international medical graduate who once struggled with grades, finances, and uncertainty transformed his life through self-discovery, research opportunities, relentless goal setting, and consistent action. From working at a pretzel store to becoming a board-certified mental health
S2, EP 9: How An Almost-Engineer Found A New Vision In Ophthalmology
What if one last-minute decision completely changed the course of your life and your career? That’s exactly what happened to Dr. Rodney Guiseppi. Accepted into engineering, he pivoted overnight to medicine in Jamaica, faced culture shock, and later discovered a passion for ophthalmology after his grandmother regained her sight. From building mentor relationships to calling programs directly, his s
S2, EP 8: Three Qualities That Will Make Your Match Application Memorable
Thousands of residency applications get read every year, but only a few truly stand out. What makes the difference? In this episode, you’ll learn how to write a personal statement that selection committees can sum up in a single sentence, why authenticity is impossible to fake, and how to choose experiences that prove you belong in your chosen specialty. If you’re serious about making your applica
S2, EP 7: 4 Mindset Shifts You Must Make To Match
Dear IMG: What if the biggest obstacle to your dream residency match isn’t your USMLE scores, your research, or even other match applicants? In this episode, admissions consultant and founder of Memorable Essay, Shawna-Kaye Lester, gets into why your mindset may cost you a match. She shares four mental shifts every ambitious IMG must make to get through the match and into their dream life.. From r
S2, EP 6: This Harvard-Trained Geriatrician Shares A Match Blueprint And Motivation
What does it take to leave Jamaica, navigate culture shock, survive residency during a pandemic, and still find joy in medicine? Dr. Samantha Patterson’s story is a blueprint for every IMG daring to dream beyond borders. In this heartening conversation, she shares her early passion for medicine, her pivot from pediatrics to internal medicine, and the moment she knew geriatrics was her calling. Fro
S2, Ep 5: How This Perseverant IMG Pivoted His British Career To A Successful Match
If you knocked on the Match door and it didn't open, would you stop? Or would you pivot, adapt, and grow stronger? In this honest and insightful conversation, Dr. Brian Brereton shares how a childhood dream of saving hearts led him on a global medical journey from Jamaica to the United Kingdom, and finally to a United States residency in internal medicine. But his story isn’t just about geogr
S2, Ep 4: This Sleep Doctor Made One Key Switch That Helped Her Match To Her Top Choice
What if the thing you’ve been told is a weakness in your application is the very thing that sets you apart? It depends on the value you place on it. Dr. Vernicia Hernandez, born and raised in Mayaro, a small community in Trinidad and Tobago, brings more than just credentials to the residency match. In this powerful conversation, she reflects on the long road from an internship in the Caribbean to
S2, Ep 3: How A Mother Inspired Her Daughter To Persevere And Serve Children
What if your lowest moment in the Match process paled in comparison to finding out that you matched? Dr. Peter-Gay Thompson went from a tiny town in rural Jamaica, a place most people have never even heard of, to matching into a pediatric residency in Miami, Florida, driven by the belief of her family members, perseverance, faith, and her mother’s example of relentless service. Dr. Thompson shares
S2, Ep 2: How a "Retarded" Child Became a Rhodes Scholar Finalist and ENT Resident
What if your first words didn’t come until age 3, and now you’re a surgeon who gives others their voice? Born with a speech disorder, mislabeled, and nearly written off, Dr. Joshua Wright, a Jamaican IMG, rose to become valedictorian of his medical school class, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, and an Otolaryngology head and neck surgery resident at Duke University. He shares how missing the Rhodes Scho
S2, EP 1: One Cuba-trained IMG Shares Her Winning Match Strategy
Imagine facing a new world where everything is foreign, from the language to the medical practices. Join host Shawna-Kaye Lester and Dr. Nadia Fernand on the IMG Residency Match Podcast as they unravel Nadia’s journey from the Bahamas to Cuba, and then to residency in the U.S. Nadia reveals the grit it took to match while working grueling hours, the differences in healthcare systems she has encoun
The IMG Residency Match Podcast - Season 1 Recap
It's a wrap on season 1 of The IMG Residency Match Podcast!
Here is a recap of those who joined us to share their expertise on preparing for the match, successfully navigating the match process, and creating your dream medical career with you, Ambitious IMG.
Episode 1: How Badly Do You Want to Match featuring Dr. Khadija Tayabali
Episode 2: Love & Matching: How to Relocate With Your
S1, EP12: HOW TO GO FROM REAPPLICANT TO CHIEF RESIDENT
HOW TO GO FROM REAPPLICANT TO CHIEF RESIDENT
When Dr. Andre Morgan graduated from Howard University’s internal medicine residency program earlier this year, he was also inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Medical Honor Society.
AOA inductees are chosen for the honor because they have displayed a lasting commitment to professionalism, leadership, scholarship, research, and community service.
S1, EP11: HOW TO USE STRATEGY AND MINDSET TO UNLOCK STEP 1 SUCCESS
HOW TO USE STRATEGY AND MINDSET TO UNLOCK STEP 1 SUCCESS
This Learning Strategist Who Went From College Failure to Nursing School Superstar Shares Her Methodology
Did you know that you can learn how to learn, Ambitious IMG? This week on the IMG Residency Match Podcast, Learning Strategist and Brilliance Coach, Clarissa Guillen, is going to tell you how—especially as it concerns your USMLE St
S1, EP10: HOW TO BALANCE APPLYING TO THE MATCH & BEING A NEW MOM
It doesn’t take long to recognize that when Dr. Anna-Belle Robertson-Chung sets a goal, she is serious about achieving it.
A Postgraduate Year 1 (PGY-1) Internal Medicine resident, in today’s episode Dr. Robertson-Chung takes us with her on her journey of preparing for the match, creating her application, matching, and relocating to the U.S.
Her journey had a unique twist. Excelling at the r
S1, EP9: HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF RESIDENCY
How This IMG Went From A Having a Tough Time in College To Getting Into Two Highly Competitive Medical Fellowships
If anyone understands the ins and outs of becoming and being an International Medical Graduate, it is Dr. Francis Christian. This is due to his broad, firsthand experience with medical education.
Dr. Christian completed high school in the island of Jamaica before moving to the U
S1, EP8: HOW TO CHOOSE THE SUBSPECIALTY THAT IS PERFECT FOR YOU
When Dr. Jovan Gayle was in medical school, he thought he would become a surgeon. He ended up becoming an internist. When he started residency training, he thought he would become a cardiologist, but when it was time to apply to fellowship, he threw his hat in the ring for Pulmonology-Critical Care.
Dr. Gayle encourages young physicians to enter residency with an open mind about what they wi
S1, EP7: HOW TO CREATE AND CRUSH A CAREER IN ACADEMIC MEDICINE
This week on The IMG Residency Match Podcast, we’re hearing from academic physician Dr. Kemi Doll. Academic physicians not only provide clinical care but also conduct research that advances the specialties in which they work.
Dr. Doll’s mother was a labor and delivery nurse, and her father was an International Medical Graduate physician. As a result, as a child, Dr. Doll thought that ‘growing up a
S1, EP6: THE TOP 4 RESOURCES YOU NEED TO MATCH
Dr. Joselle Cook feels as if she was always interested in medicine, because she grew up in the back of her mother’s retail pharmacy. As she got older, she would help in the pharmacy, and through that experience gained an understanding of the role that various professionals play in medicine.
This led to her pursuing science subjects at the Naparima Girls’ High School in Trinidad, where she was
S1, EP 5: HOW TO CULTIVATE A MINDSET THAT HELPS YOU MATCH
A therapist and mindset coach for high achievers speaks on mental health for IMGs applying to the match
For the Internal Medical Graduate (IMG), matching requires discipline, mental strength, and resilience. Sixty-one percent (61%) of International Medical Graduates were successful in the 2020 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) main residency match, compared to 94% of American Medical Gradu
S1, EP 4: IMGs: HOW TO MAKE MATCHING AND MEDICINE WORK FOR YOU
An OB-GYN’s Journey from Burnout to Balance
Dr. Hodon Mohamed describes herself as a part-time OB-GYN and a career coach. She gave up her job as a full-time OB-GYN almost three years ago when she started experiencing burnout.
After years of working in an academic center, covering three hospitals, Dr. Hodon Mohamed realized that there was more to life than medicine. Trying to be a mother, wife, dau
S1, EP 3: HOW TO BLOW YOUR USMLEs OUT OF THE WATER
Find out how this IMG excelled in all 3 Step exams within 18 months.
Dr. Shion Betty had to get serious about completing his USMLE exams. That meant moving from Jamaica, his home country, to take up a Clinical Tutor role in Grenada. The move worked well for him. Within 18 months, he successfully completed all his exams with outstanding scores.
Now Dr. Betty is in an Internal Medical residency,&nbs
S1, EP 2: LOVE AND MATCHING: HOW TO RELOCATE WITH YOUR NON-PHYSICIAN SPOUSE
This IMG was excited to match... but his wife had an established career she would have to leave behind.
Dr. Darren Bodkin is married to accountant Alicia Archer Bodkin, thanks to a sneaky intervention partially coordinated by his twin brother. Their union took place in Trinidad and Tobago, the couple’s home country.
When Dr. Bodkin matched into residency in the United States, the couple was excite
S1, EP 1: HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT TO MATCH?
One Kenyan IMG’s story of overcoming obstacle after obstacle to match into Internal Medicine
When Dr. Khadija Tayabali started preparing for the United States Medical Licensing Examination, she hadn’t planned on becoming a mother anytime soon. But, within months of commencing her studies, she discovered she was carrying her now 6-year-old daughter. Surprise!
A graduate of the University of Nairobi
Welcome to The International Medical Graduate Residency Match Podcast
The International Medical Graduate Residency Match podcast premieres this Thursday, June 11, 2020.
Listen for insider strategies and inspiration to help you match into residency.
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